Sled with tiltable runners controlled by a tilting rider support



s. FABRIS 3,190,671 SLED WITH TILTABLE RUNNERS CONTROLLED BY A TIL G RI SUPPORT Fil Jan. 1963 June 22, 1965 FIG, 1

I M YEN 7'02 Sergzo fZrbrls wigs United States Patent Office Patented June 22, 1965 l 3,190,671 SLED WITH TILTABLE RUNNERS CONTRQLLED BY A TILTING RIDER SUPPORT Sergio Fabris, Mussolente, Italy Filed Jan. 9, 1963, Ser. No. 250,383 4 Claims. (Cl. 280-21) This application is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 197,990, filed May 28, 1962, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to a ski-sled which is capable of slalom movements over the snow in a manner similar to that of skiing but which is manageable simply by incl-ination of the rest supported by the skis and on which one or more persons can sit, lie, or otherwise rest.

It is an object of this invention to produce a ski-sled of the type described which offers a unique and pleasant ride over the snow; which embodies the characteristics of skis for slalom and the like movements over the snow; which is simple and safe in operation; which is sturdy in construction; which can be economically manufact-ured of readily available materials; which can be easily managed in turning movements over the snow merely by tilting action of the rest; and which can be used by young and old alike for sport and for pleasure.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter appear and for purposes of illustration, but not of limitation, an embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of the ski-sled embodying the features of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational View of the ski-sled shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the ski-sled shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2 but showing the relationship between parts when in tilted position for turning in the snow;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a ski element employed in the ski-sled of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken through a crosssection of the ski shown in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a top plan view in greater detail of a forward end portion of the ski shown in FIG. 5.

The ski-sled of this invention is formed with a seat A in the form of a substantially flat platform and a pair of laterally spaced apart skis F. The platform is supported in vertical spaced apart relation between the pair of skis by a rod system which is effective to cause the skis to incline sideways in one direction or the other responsive to and concurrently with tilting movement of the platform which in turn may be effected by disposition of weight or force by the operator at rest on the platform or seat.

For this purpose, there is provided a group of four rods at the forward end portion of the platform and a similar group of four rods at the rearward end portion of the platform. In each group the four rods are substantially crosswise aligned and include a pair of inner rods D with one rod of said pair pivoted at its lower end to the top surface of one of the skis while the other rod is pivoted at its lower end to the top surface of the other of said skis with the upper end portions of the rods D having a substantially common pivot lengthwise aligned with about the center line of the platform and which thus defines the pivotal axis of the platform.

The other two rods C in each group of four are arranged to extend in parallel relation with the rods D but are spaced outwardly therefrom to define a parallelogram therebetween. Each of the outer rods C is similarly pivoted at its lower end portion onto the top surface of the ski and spaced outwardly from the pivot of the rods D while the upper end portions of the outer rods C are ivoted to the bottom side of the platform equally spaced outwardly from the corresponding pivots of the inner rods D. Because of the parallelogram'formed between the pairs of pivoted rods, tilting movement of the platform will effect corresponding tilting movement of the skis in exactly the same direction since the skis and the platform define the opposite sides of the described parallelogram.

The same arrangement is effected between the rearward group of rods and the skis and platform. However, the rearward group of rods may be of shorter length to position the rearward end of the platform at a lower level than the forward end portion to provide a downward tilt of the platform which enables the operator to influence the position of the front portions of the ski blades by rocking or by shifting his weight forward or backward on the platform.

The spacing between the pivots of the inner and outer rods need not be exact. It will suffice if the spacing between the pivoted upper ends of the inner and outer rods is slightly greater thereby to deviate slightly from a true parallelogram.

By tilting the platform to effect a corresponding tilt of the skis, the ski-sled can be made to slalom or it can be steered by the same techniques which are employed conventionally in skiing over the snow. Thus by shifting the weight or tilting the platform from one side tov the other, the ski-sled can be made to weave its way, as in a slalom.

The rods are braced by the cross-bar E extending between the pair of inner rods D. The entire framework is further stiffened and braced by the angle rods B which extend from the upper pivot of the front pair of rods D to the pivoted lower end portions of the rear pair of rods D, as shown in FIG. 1.

The skis comprise short skis having their forward ends coming to a point with sides G and H curving outwardly and then inwardly rather sharply, as shown in FIG. 7. This construction is of considerable importance for effecting the desired gripping relationship in turning movements over the snow. As previously described, such movements may be obtained simply by inclining the seat so that the skis are shifted to tilt the corner edges and thus cause the sled to turn according to the bending of the sides of the skis in contact with the snow. Curving or sliding movement is then controlled by varying the inclination of the seat either by moving the body forwards or backwards or by rolling.

The skis may have the shape shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 including curvature in the sides N, grooves I formed in laterally spaced apart relationship in the bottom side of the skis, lengthwise curvature in the bottom side of the skis as illustrated by the letter L in FIG. 5, and crosswise curvature as illustrated by the letter Q to provide a bottom side of concave contour, and with a rear end terminating in a downwardly extending lip M, all of which provide for most efficient and effective handling and braking responsive to proper movement of the pressure center on the skis and contact position with the snow.

It will be understood that changes may be made in the details of construction, arrangement, operation and the materials of which the ski-sled is formed without departing from the spirit of the invention, especially as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A ski-sled comprising a pair of skis arranged in 4 laterally spaced apart relation, a platform centrally disposed with reference to the pair of skis, and rod means interconnecting the platform with said pair of skis to locate the platform above the skis and to rock the skis in the same direction and concurrently with the platform responsive to rocking movement of the platform, said rod means comprising a front and back group of rods with each group having four rods including one pair of inner rods pivotally connected at their upper end portions to a substantially common pivot on the platform with the lower end portion of one of said rods pivotally connected to one ski and the lower end portion of the other of said rods pivotally connected to the other ski and with each group of four rods including another pair of outer rods pivotally connected at their lower ends to the skis and at their upper ends to the platform with the outer rods spaced outwardly in substantially parallel relation with the inner rods with the spacing of the pivots between the upper ends equal to the spacing of the pivots between the lower ends to define parallelograms between each of said pivots of the outer and inner rods and the ski and platform located therebetween and a cross-brace rod between the pairs of inner rods.

2. A ski-sled as claimed in claim 1 in which the rods of each group are crosswise aligned.

3. A ski-sled as claimed in claim 1 in which the rear group of rods is arranged similarly to the front group of rods but is dimensioned to be of shorter length to position the platform with a downward tilt from the forward end portion.

4. A ski-sled as claimed in claim 1 which includes frame bracing rods extending rearwardly from the upper end portion of the inner rods of the forward group of rods to the lower end portion of the inner rods of the rearward group of rods.

References Cited'by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 304,105 8/84 Johnston 280l5 2,188,080 1/40 Grimm 280-12 X 2,323,847 7/43 Sampsell 2802l 2,950,922 8/60 Rudine 280-12 X FOREIGN PATENTS 149,393 4/37 Austria.

179,735 9/54 Austria.

490,722 2/53 Canada.

145,814 4/37 Switzerland.

A. HARRY LEVY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A SKI-SLED COMPRISING A PAIR OF SKIS ARRANGED IN LATERALLY SPACED APART RELATION, A PLATFROM CENTRALLY DISPOSED WITH REFERENCE TO THE PAIR OF SKIS, AND ROD MEANS INTERCONNECTING THE PLATFORM WITH SAID PAIR OF SKIS TO LOCATE THE PLATFORM ABOVE THE SKIS AND TO ROCK THE SKIS IN THE SAME DIRECTION AND CONCURRENTLY WITH THE PLATFORM RESPONSIVE TO ROCKING MOVEMENT OF THE PLATFROM, SAID ROD MEANS COMPRISING A FRONT AND BACK GROUP OF RODS WITH EACH GROUP HAVING FOUR RODS INCLUDING ONE PAIR OF INNER RODS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED AT THEIR UPPER END PORTIONS TO A SUBSTANTIALLY COMMON PIVOT ON THE PLATFORM WITH THE LOWER END PORTION OF ONE OF SAID RODS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO ONE SKI AND THE LOWER END PORTION OF THE OTHER OF SAID RODS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO THE OTHER SKI AND WITH EACH GROUP OF FOUR RODS INCLUDING ANOTHER PAIR OF OUTER RODS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED AT THEIR LOWER ENDS TO THE SKIS AND AT THEIR UPPER ENDS TO THE PLATFORM WITH THE OUTER RODS SPACED OUTWARDLY IN SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLLEL RELATION WITH THE INNER RODS WITH THE SPACING OF THE PIVOTS BETWEEN THE UPPER ENDS EQUAL TO THE SPACING OF THE PIVOTS BETWEEN THE LOWER ENDS TO DEFINE PARALLELOGRAMS BETWEEN EACH OF SAID PIVOTS OF THE OUTER AND INNER RODS AND THE SKI AND PLATFORM LOCATED THEREBETWEEN AND A CROSS-BRACE ROD BETWEEN THE PAIRS OF INNER RODS. 